


out of sight

by Snowy_Cas



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Domestic Boyfriends, M/M, Sad and Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27289081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowy_Cas/pseuds/Snowy_Cas
Summary: Whumptober Day 26 - BlindnessMerlin never had the best eyesight.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	out of sight

Merlin never had the best eyesight.

Even in primary school when he and Arthur met, he was always running into things and squinting at the board. Arthur liked to tease him about it, but he also constantly insisted Merlin get glasses. Merlin would just wave him away and refuse, saying he’d be fine. Sometimes he’d joke that he’d use Arthur’s eyes instead. 

He always loved the color of Arthur’s eyes. 

Their first date in university didn’t go the way either of them expected, for Merlin pointed to something he wanted on the menu and was presented with a strange fish meal. Merlin said he thought it was a hamburger. They both had a good laugh about it, but Arthur couldn’t deny his concern. The print of the menu was very small, though, so he focused on having a good time for the rest of the night. 

On the day they got married, Merlin couldn’t read his vows. He started out from the paper he wrote them down on, but halfway through began to struggle. Laughing, he had thrown the paper over his shoulder and began to make up his vows on the spot.

Of course, he still managed to make Arthur tear up.

His sight grew worse and worse over the years. Arthur would need to help him cross the street and go up the stairs, read out loud words for him, and even had to learn how to cook for him, since Merlin couldn’t do it anymore. Arthur did finally manage to get him to wear glasses, but he was too far gone for them to do much good. 

Merlin couldn’t see anymore when he was 61. 

It happened one day, when he and Arthur were both retired, and he woke up in the morning asking for Arthur to turn on the lights. He didn’t react immediately when Arthur told him they were already on. Arthur, however, began to panic, saying 61 was too early for anyone to lose their sight and that it wasn’t possible. Merlin had calmed him with a soothing hand on his back. The fact that Merlin wasn’t panicking had at first confused Arthur, but later that day he saw Merlin, alone in the kitchen, crying. 

Merlin was always quiet after it happened.. He didn’t eat a lot and hardly left the house. Arthur stayed by his side as much as possible and would do his best to comfort Merlin. 

But something else changed, too, after this. Merlin started to ask Arthur to describe his eyes. He said he missed seeing the color. The first time he asked, Arthur had a hard time controlling his tears, but he obliged. He didn’t find himself good at describing them, but when he saw the smile on Merlin’s face, he knew he’d done something right.

It only began with the eyes.

Every day, Merlin would add something new. He asked about Arthur’s eyes, his nose, his lips, his chest, his hands, every part of him. The color of his hair and the way it was parted, how his skin would tan in the sun, and the little lean of his head he’d do when he laughed. Arthur enjoyed it as much as Merlin did, but it was because it seemed to make him so happy. It was the only thing that did that for Merlin anymore, besides Arthur himself. 

One day, Merlin didn’t get out of bed. Arthur tried coaxing him out with promises of his favorite breakfast and the music of his favorite band, and when that didn’t work, Arthur knew what was going on.

He lay next to Merlin all day. They talked, mostly, recounting moments from a better time in their life, telling jokes, and saying how much they loved one another. Arthur was waiting to answer Merlin’s question. 

And when it came, it was different that he expected.

Merlin only asked about his eyes.

He said it was the last thing he wanted to see in his mind.

So Arthur recounted the exact words from when he told Merlin the first time, and that was the last time he ever spoke them.

**Author's Note:**

> i do a ton of mcd and this is what that is, but i feel like this is different from what i usually write, so i hope. you guys still like it!  
> and title credit goes to lordvoldemortsnipple, check out their fics!


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